AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Jan. 12 that MB2 Dental Solutions (MB2) and 21 affiliated pediatric dental practices have agreed to pay $8.45 million after allegedly violating the federal False Claims Act (FCA) and the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act (TMFPA).
MB2 purportedly submitted claims for children’s dental services that were never performed or were performed after using false identification. Paxton’s office alleged the organization committed these acts knowingly. Paxton also said MB2 gave illegal kickbacks to Medicaid beneficiaries and their families, marketers and marketing entities.
Medicaid programs are jointly funded by the state and the federal government; Texas will receive $4.2 million of the total settlement amount. The federal government will receive a share, as well as the whistle blower who brought the issue to U.S. and Texas authorities.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas and the Texas attorney general’s Civil Medicaid Fraud Division and Medicaid Fraud Control Unit handled the case.
Since 2000, the office of the Texas attorney general said it has has recovered more than $1.7 billion for taxpayers under the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act.